COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course considers the literary genre of the modern short story, particularly recent American work reflecting shifts in cultural practices. The course will first consider the genre across time and geography starting in the earlier twentieth century and move forward to our own time. This recent work often raises issues having to do with genre and the question of what a short story is, now in our time, noticing how related literary genres like memoir, voiced nonfiction, creative nonfiction, and literary journalism share some of the same features as the contemporary short fiction. Focusing in this web of interinfluences may be key to understanding contemporary culture.

The HSS senior seminar, is meant to be the culmination of the undergraduate experience in the humanities and social sciences. Characterized by its sophistication of inquiry, the Seminar is to be an in-depth experience within a particular area of focus dependent upon an instructorbs intellectual or artistic specialization or area of expertise. The Seminar inquiry is characterized by its ongoing exchange among participants meant to foster nuanced critical thinking and discussion, as well as adept writing. Prerequisites for enrolling in the Seminar are: HUM 102; and one from among HUM 211, HUM 212 and Hist 213 or their equivalents, all with a grade of C or better; completion of either the Lit/Hist/Phil/STS or the Open Elective in Humanities and Social Science, with a grade of C or better.

Learning Outcomes: By the end of this course students should be able to: demonstrate critical thinking within a narrowly focused subject area through both oral and written communication;develop in-depth, focused, polemical, researched writing with full documentation of sources; write argument-based essays in response to thematic questions; and, explain the dynamic of news media within a free society.

COURSE TEXTS

See the course schedule (below). All assigned stories will be available inside the course homepage in Canvas. Various other short readings are also to be found at the course homepage in Canvas.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

 • Oral/Visual Reports, of them at least one individual report on the current reading assigned.

 • Weekly Canvas postings (one original of 100 to 150 words, another 50 to 100-word response to someone elsebs post).

 •  Other Canvas postings (one original of 100 to 150 words, another 50 to 100-word response to someone elsebs post), which may derive from the routine weekly posted comments.

• Two in-class exams that will be in scope comprehensive, essay in format, and open-book.

Weekly Canvas posts should be spell-checked and to the best of one's ability grammar-checked, and must be in standard English and adhere to standard formal writing protocols.

As regards all writing submitted in this course, please keep the following in mind. If on occasion use is made of the ideas or words of someone else in one's writing, then the source(s) of those ideas and/or words must be cited; that is, when appropriate, papers must be fully documented in MLA format (you must cite sources--using footnotes, endnotes, or parenthetical documentation, which include specific page numbers keyed to particular passages in your text, and complete bibliographical information). WRITTEN TEXTS NOT MEETING ALL OF THESE REQUIREMENTS WILL NOT BE READ AND WILL NOT RECEIVE CREDIT. 

N.B. Academic Integrity is the cornerstone of higher education and is central to the ideals of this course and the university. Cheating is strictly prohibited and devalues the degree that you are working on. As a member of the NJIT community, it is your responsibility to protect your educational investment by knowing and following the academic code of integrity whose policy can be found at: http://www5.njit.edu/policies/sites/policies/files/academic-integrity-code.pdf. 
Please note that it is my professional obligation and responsibility to report any academic misconduct to the Dean of Students Office. Any student found in violation of the code by cheating, plagiarizing or using any online software inappropriately will result in disciplinary action. This may include a failing grade of F, and/or suspension or dismissal from the university. If you have any questions about the code of Academic Integrity, please contact the Dean of Students Office at dos@njit.edu.

Papers must be submitted to the instructor via Canvas, as Word or Word-compatible files only. Do not submit anything as a PDF.

N.B.: Failure to participate in class discussions (especially online) at a minimally acceptable level can result in disqualification of in-term assignments; such disqualification must inevitably spell failure in the course. In order to pass this course a student should be consistently active in weekly class work starting from the beginning of the course term. Furthermore, only three unexcused absences will be allowed; more than these will mean automatic course failure.  

COURSE GRADE

Final Examination, 30%; Midterm Exam 10%
Class Participation online (initial, originating posts - graded weekly), 20% 
Class Participation online (responses to classmates' posts), 10%
Follow-up Questions or Comments, 5%
Portfolio of Eight Best Posts online, 5%
Group Report, 10%  
Individual Report, 10% (highest report grade counts for all in-class reports)
Extra credit project, 10%

COURSE SCHEDULE*

Week 1:  Introduction to the course.
Week 2:  Hemingway, "Big Two-Hearted River"; Ellison, "Battle Royal."
Week 3:  Jackson, "The Lottery"; O'Connor, "A Good Man Is Hard to Find."
Week 4:  Paley, "A Conversation with My Father"; Carver, "Neighbors."
Week 5:  Morrison, "Recitatif"; Erdrich, "The Red Conversitible."
Week 6:  Midterm Exam
Week 7:  Williams, "Escapes"; Trask, "Putting Out the Sun."
Week 8:  Lahiri, "Interpreter of Maladies"; Wallace, "Good People."
Week 9:  Willis, "Tara White”; Ng, "Girls, at Play."
Week 10: Darraj, “Chasing Valentino”; Englander, "What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank.”
Week 11: Simmons, “Little America.” Shaik, "Bird Whistle."
Week 12: Diaz, "The Cheater's Guide"; Vossoughi, "The Vine."
Week 13: Faison, "Do Sum Sum"; Loonam, “The Assistant.”
Week 14: REPORTS ON RESEARCH PAPER PROJECTS. 

* See due dates and details of assignments at course homepage in Canvas.